“I always said I was innocent,” said Antwon Golatte, 35, of Chicago, speaking to reporters for the first time since he was shot by police officers last year, reports The Guardian. Last Thursday, the city’s independent police review authority (IPRA) ruled that officers were unjustified in shooting Golatte. Their investigation contradicted officers’ contention that they shot him in self-defense, believing that Golatte was trying to run them over with his SUV. He thinks about the incident every day. “I’ll never be the same again.” Golatte and his lawyers said they think IPRA’s ruling signals that the movement for police accountability in Chicago may finally be having some effect.
“If IPRA is going to start stepping forward and giving some kind of fairness back to communities and other cities start following their lead, that stops all this chaos and madness out there of cops versus communities,” said Chris Stewart, an Atlanta-based attorney working with Golatte. “Because all people in communities want to know is we’re going to be treated fairly … If someone gets shot, investigate fairly. That’s pretty reasonable.” In December, Mayor Rahm Emanuel replaced the head of the oversight board with former federal prosecutor Sharon Fairley. Since Fairley took over, IPRA has found three shootings by police unjustified, compared to finding only two shootings unjustified between 2007 and the end of 2015.